Engine-rod connection.



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w. L. BROWN & A. J, MEUWLY.

ENGXNE ROD CONNECTION APPLJCAT ION FILED SEPT.2619I3.

Patented Sept. '4"; 1915.

WILLIAM LEE BROWN AND ALEX J. MEUWLY, OF LITTLE R0 CK, ARKANSAS.

ENGINE-ROI) CONNECTION.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 7, 1915.

Application filed September 26. 1913. Serial No. 791,970.

" f1 0 (ZZZ "whom it may concern:

lie it, known that we. \VILTJAM L. Baowx and Ara-1x J. l\lr.nwm', citizens of the United States, and residents of Little Rock, county of Pulaski, and State of Arkansas, ha ve invented an Improvement in Engine Rod Connections, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, isa specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

The invention to be hereinafter described relates to engine rod connections, and more particularly to the connections between an engine cross-head or piston and the rod or rods for transmitting power to or from said parts.

The aims and purposes of the present invention are to provide a pin for connecting a rod to a cross-head, piston or other part of an engine, whereby as the relatively moving parts of the connection wear in use, the pin will act automatically to take up such wear, and maintain the parts in the new relation, thereby doing away with the objecl'ionablc rattle. noise. and loose relation of the parts incident to the old construetions, and prolonging the life of the connections,all as will hereinafter more fully appear in connection with the accompanying drawing of one practical embodiment of the invention, which in its true scope, is definitely described by the claims.

In the drawing :--Figure 1 is a sectional J'iCW of an engine piston having the connecting rod joined thereto by a pin embodying the presentinvention; and Fig.2 is a cross-section on the line 9-9, Fig. 1. I

lVhile in the exploitation of the present invention, the pin is illustrated as applied between the piston and connecting rod of a gas engine, it isto be understood that the invention is not restricted thereto, but that the pin may he. used in other relations where a rod is to be connected to an engine part for transmitting power, as for instance, between the cross-head and connecting rod, or other like parts.

In the drawing, 1 represents the piston of an ordinary gas engine which may be of usual or any preferred construction, and 2 represents the connecting rod for transmitting power from the piston 1 to the crank shaft or other movable part of the gas en- Mounted in bearings 3 of the piston pin ts'urrounded, it may be,

glue. 1 is a hollow by a bronze or other bushing 5 which is itself connected to the rod '2 by a suitable clamp or embracing part (3. This clamp or embracing part (3 may be formed as indicated in Fig. 2, or otherwise, the construction in these respects forming no essential part of the present invention. As indicated in Fig. 2 the parts of the clamp 6 for con necting the rod 2 with the hollow pin 1 may be forced together by a screw bolt 7 engaging the lugs 8 and 9 formed in the two parts of the clamp 6, said form of connection having been found a convenient manner for such connectimi. although other forms of connec:

tionmay be advantageously employed, the essential in this respect being that some means he provided for connecting the rod 2 to the hollow-pin 4.

The pin 1 may be conveniently formed as a continuoushollow tube, as indicated by Fig. 1, and one end thereof may be closed by a screw plug 10, adapted to engage suitable screw threads 11 on the interior of the hollow pin 1. substantially as indicated in Fig. l. The hollow pin 4:, has end bearing portions 1; which rest in the bearings 3 of the piston 1, and is secured from rotative movement therein by any suitable means such as the clamping screws 13, the construction being such that as the piston moves rectilinearly and the connecting rod 2 oscillates about the pin 1, any wear occurring between the parts will take place between the bearings 12 oi the pin &, either in the pin itself or the part of the connecting'rod which surrounds it. Between the bearing portions 12 the pin 4 is provided with a longitudinal opening 1st through which projectsa wedge 15 extending longitudinally of the pin l and having its wedge surface 16 within the pin. From this c nstruction it will be apparent that the wedge 15 may' move radially with respect to the pin 4 through the recess or opening 1-1 between the bearings 12 of said pin. Bodily contained within the hollow pin 1 is a second wedge 17, the wedging surface of which engages and coacts with the wedging surface 16 of the wedge 15. The wedge 17, like the wedge 15,

extends longitudinally of the pin 4 and preferably has its larger end 18 fitting the bore of the hollow pin, the construction being such that any movement'of the wedge 17 longitudinally of the pin 4 to the right, as indicated in Fig. 1, will cause outward movement of the wedge and thereby take up any wear or lost motion that may occur between the connecting rod and pin as indicated in Fig. 2. The position of the wedges 15 and 17 carried by the hollow pin =1, is such that the wedge 15 is preferably moved radially of the pin at substantially in the line of power thrust between the piston and connecting rod 2.; in other words, these wedges are preferably arranged with relation to the hollow pin 4 that their longitudinal axis or dimension shall be in the plane passing through the line of thrust, although in some cases this may be varied.

Interposed between the closed end of the hollow pin 4 and the larger end of the wedge 17 is a spring 19, Fig. 1, normally acting to force the wedge 17 longitudinally to the right, Fig. 1, so that the inclined surfaces of the two wedges 15 and 17 shallnormally act to thrust the wedge 15 radially outward of the pin 4., thereby automatically taking up any wear that may occur between the moving parts. As a preferred form of construction, the spring 19 has one'end seated in a recess 20 in the larger end of the wedge 17, and the opposite end of said spring may be similarly seated in a recess at the closed end of the pin, substantially as indicated in Fig. 1.

From the construction described, it will be apparent that the hollow pin 1 has extending longitudinally thereof the two wedges 15 and 17, and that the spring acting upon the larger end of the wedge 17 normally tends to force the wedge 15 outward in a radial direction, while said wedge 15 is maintained from longitudinal movement of the hollow pin 1 by the, end walls of the recess or opening 1% between the bearing portions 12 of the said .pin', thereby taking up any wear between the moving parts, connecting the rod to the pin, and

overcoming any lost motion or rattle that would otherwise occur between said parts.

In the form of the invention illustrated,

. one end of the hollow pin at is shown as closed by the screw plug 10, and such screw plugforms aconvenient means for the assemblage of parts, and the adjustment of the spring tension acting upon the wedge 17, but if desired, one end of the hollow pin 4 may be permanently closed within the true scope of the invention, in which case the parts will be assembled from the open end length of the wedge and extending longitu--\ dinally of the hollow pin in said longitudinal opening. a second wedge within said hollow pin of greater length than the first named wedge and having a straight edge portion resting on the interior surface of the hollow pin, and means acting automatically to move said second wedge longitudinally of the said hollow pin to force the first-named wedge outwardly.

2. An engine rod connection, comprising a hollow pin having a longitudinal opening at one side, a wedge extending through said opening and having aninclinededge formed in a single plane throughout the length of the wedge, a second wedge movable longitudinally within the hollow pin and of greater length than the first-named wedge, said second wedge having a circularly curved bearing portion conforming to and resting upon the interior surface of the hollow pin and an inclined edge formed in a single plane to conform to the inclined edge of the first-named wedge, a spring acting upon one end of the second wedge, and means for adjusting the tension of the spring.

3. In an engine rod connection, the comhination of .a movable engine part a hollow pin secured from rotative movement to said part and provided with a longitudinal opening, a connecting rod having an end emmember of greater length than the firstnamed wedge and movable longitudimilly within the hollow pin, said second wedge having an inclined edge formed in asingle plane to cooperate with the inclined edge of the 'firstnamed wedge, and a cylindtic'ally curved surface to conform to and rest upon the interior surface of the hollow pin, and adjustable means acting automatically for forcing said second wedge member longitudinally of the hollow pin to move the firstnamed wedge radially and take up wear.

4. An engine rod connection comprising a hollow pin provided with a longitudinal opening through the cylindrical wall thereof, a wedge having an inclined edge portion formed in a single plane, said Wedge extending longitudinally of the hollow pin Within said opening through the cylindrical Wall of the pin and movable radially thereof, a sec- BEST AVAILABLE COPY fimmbl'longiizudimfi g within 0W pm, said second wedgafiafling a maimed .ecige formed in a simgle 1 mfipsrme with the izgciinad efige of -.-mme d1 Wedge and having a, surface gmaans aczing autamaticmlly *gho smdLseoond wedge iongitudinally of fmzfiompin While maintaining-its surface wingun 151w interior of said pin and thee .g mx'the inizerioiof the hofiaw pin,

950m A. Scams, BEN D. Samm. 

